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EA Flood Defence Team Plans for Substantial Dredging of River Loddon

keep up the pressure!

Ian.. The letter above from the (external) part of the EA is a standard one and they are again allowed around 20 days to respond/reply to you, as they have to research and find the information if any exists.
Worth a phone call though to keep them on their toes!

One problem i forsee 'if' the EA/NE/government bodies etc do overide and throw out the Environmental destruction concerns and issues, is that it could set a precident to where other rivers at risk of flooding houses etc, will receive the same fate as the Loddon!
This is why it is very important to keep up the pressure at this moment in time!
The EA know, or as we are told to expect more flash floods etc, in the future, it is what they will do to try and stop or minimise the damage to property and keep the owners happy. If they are allowed to get away with it, then they will, even if it kills the environment, wildlife etc, etc, in the process.
Clubs, and interested bodies on the Loddon will be slower off the mark than you are, so it is important to stir and shout as individuals at this time to wake them up, in my opinion....Ray
 
Will has just got off the phone from Martin Salter, he is completely on board but off on business for a few weeks, his office will be contacting the EA to request they do nothing before he is back and has been consulted on the matter, thanks Will.

I am putting together a briefing for him on the matter, I am hoping to know more from the EA myself in the next couple of days.

I will keep you informed.
 
Good work Will, Likewise Crooky. I feel a whole lot happier now that Martin is aware of the situation.

Ian.
 
Ok, Mark Owen (Environmental Campaigns Manager at the Angling Trust) has spoken to the EA and they have stated that:

 "There are no plans to dredge long sections of the Loddon. There is a plan to do work on 2 specific sites on the Loddon; namely in one place where an old bridge has fallen in there is still some remaining debris that they wish to remove and that secondly there is a bridge where silt has built up around its footings and they would like to remove it.
They think that misconseptions have arised because a consultation document used the word "dredging" on the Loddon and that it should have been more specific regarding the actual work planned. They are coming to the next Loddon Consultative meeting on the 22nd April (not March as I had posted earlier) to explain fully and Mark Owen has also been invited to attend. The EA went on to explain that before any work could be carried out a full river survey will have to be done and consultations with the EA Fishery Team will also have to take place so no action will be taken in the short term and definitely not before the Consultative meeting."

Not sure I fully trust them so I have written to the same EA person to ask to see a copy of the consultation document referred.

Will keep you posted..........
 
No Smoke without Fire?

Top Man Ian...
As mentioned before and as a 'precautionary' measure on your part, usually clubs or riparian owners have to be informed by the EA and permission to gain access if 'any' works are to carried out on the river, whether under so called maintenance, survey or other.
It is wise to make sure that the EA do not go in more quickly and do this dredging under a different guise or reason.
Keep the eyes peeled and make sure the clubs are aware of this.

I think that you and others have now put the EA and others well in the picture and on their guard in that it will not be as easy as first thought, especilly if it was/is their intention to dredge with no regard to the environmental and wildlife consequences.
In my opinion, there is no smoke without fire..and you have probably dampened the issue for the time being at least.
Well done...Ray
 
Dear Ian let me know if you want to feature this on my programme At The Waters Edge on BBC Radio I will be at the Big One on 21st Feb Regards Martin James Tel 07779-473798
 
Crooky

I think there is an opportunity here to highlight the diversity on the natural river environment of the Loddon.

Graham
 
Response from the EA:

Thank you for your emails. I would like to assure you all, Flood Risk Management are pleased to liaise with all groups and offer advice where appropriate. Following the Pitt report, we have endeavoured to work better with local authorities and resident/interest groups.

Through this liaison process, particularly with Loddon Valley Residents, we have identified a number of locations that require maintenance by either the Environment Agency or Thames Water in addition to our regular maintenance programme. For the Environment Agency, one of these sites is at Winnersh where gravel has formed a small shoal below the railway bridge and silt has built up below the Loddon Bridge. Before any work starts, the operations delivery team have consulted the Fisheries and Biodiversity team as we do with all maintenance work, to confirm the scope of work. Following this discussion, it was agreed that a river corridor survey needs to be updated to assess what impact this work would have on the watercourse.

We anticipate this work would involve removing part of the silt and gravel to bed level to reduce the impact of these obstructions during high flows. This is part of our ongoing maintenance programme started last year which includes cutting back vegetation along the Loddon. It has also been suggested that there may be some debris below the A329 bridge left over from its construction. Until this have been investigated further, no work is programmed for this section of the Loddon.

We have commissioned a study to review flood risk on the Lower Loddon and Emm Brook. This is due to be reviewed this week before being issued for general use. This study will review possible options for flood defence schemes in this area including flood storage areas or property resilience options. Dredging has not been considered in this report as it will have limited impact on flood risk and a negative affect on the environment.

I trust this will reassure you about our maintenance programme. Should you require further information, please do not hesitate to contact myself on the number below or Doug Hill on 01276 454513.

Regards

B Roberts​
Technical Specialist​
Asset System Management​
 
And My response:

Thank you for your response Brian,

 My e-mail was requesting a copy of the planning and environmental impact studies carried out to date, do I read from this response that none has yet been done?? I also requested a copy of the consultation document which was issued to EA Fisheries and Biodiversity teams, is this not available??

 The Loddon Fisheries and Conservation Consultative, of which I am a part, have a series of workshops coming up in a few weeks time, the purpose of which is to plan conservation and habitat improvement type work through the Loddon catchment, we now have a real worry that any planning we do would be pointless as it would seem that the EA flood defence team regards prime fish spawning beds as a flood risk requiring removal. I can see that any river habitat conservation work could be in direct conflict with flood defence requirements.

The area you speak of around Winnersh has only one long term resolution to limit flooding and that is to widen Loddon bridge as it is no longer capable of passing the volumes of water required to keep the flood plain down to a level where it would not encroach on houses and business, instead flood water over tops the bridge and floods adjacent land before re-entering the river downstream of the bridge. I realise the cost of widening the available channel at this restriction point would be substantial but at the same time there is little point putting public funds into schemes which have not been thoroughly calculated in terms of real benefit.

 I understand Doug Hill is joining our meeting in March but would suggest that if your works needs to commence before this date, a special meeting could be set up to discuss your flood defence plans and prevent any unnecessary work or time being wasted on either part. There is a substantial amount of public support behind conservation of this river and I would not like the EA to be further perceived in a bad light through the making of careless or more so unnecessary decisions relating to flood prevention.

 Best Regards,
 Ian
 
Just for those not sure.

The Bridge in question is the one Opposite the George Pub at Woodley, and the lower downstream main road Bridge.

Probably fed up with the Cinema and rounabout flooding.Of course anyone who had lived there for a few years before the build could have said.........surprise surprise.


Graham
 
Well, anyone living in Wokingham Borough who was thinking of voting conservative at the General Election (as I was in fact!!) think again. Our local MP, John Redwood, is obviously not a supporter of angling or conservation!!!! I hope he loses lots of votes, from Get Reading website:

Work starts to reduce the risk of flooding

April 13, 2010


Work to reduce the risk of flooding for residents living in Winnersh and Earley began last month.

The Environment Agency has begun work on the River Loddon to remove silt that has built up at the Loddon Bridge and remove similar restrictions further down the river channel.

The agency will also remove the concrete spoil from a construction collapse at the A329M fly-over later this year.

John Redwood, MP for Wokingham, has cautiously welcomed the flood prevention measures, however he has warned the agency is playing a reaction game.

He said it needs to be more proactive in removing the causes of floodwater from the river.

Mr Redwood said he is disappointed the Environment Agency will not be carrying out any dredging of the river, as the organisation does not believe full-scale dredging will have any impact on preventing flooding.

Mr Redwood said: “I am pleased the Environment Agency is getting round to the serious work of removing blockages to the river, as I have been persuading them to do so for some time.

“What we ultimately need is a flood alleviation scheme alongside a commitment to regular, planned monitoring of water channels and maintenance or dredging as soon as obstacles or blockages appear.

“This way, we will be able to prevent problems with flooding and stop taking reactive measures every time we suffer a supposedly ‘once in a hundred years’ rainfall.”

The Loddon Valley Residents’ Association was launched last year in response to flooding fears in the area.

It has since liaised with MPs, the Environment Agency and Wokingham Borough Council to get action on flood prevention.
 
From his Party's website:


"John has a daughter and son, and lives in the Wokingham district. He is a keen gardener, an enthusiastic village cricketer, and enjoys sailing, windsurfing, water and jet ski-ing. He wishes the English summer was a couple of months longer, as he finds it difficult to choose between a Saturday at Lords, the Oval, Wimbledon or the Globe whilst trying to fit in his own weekend cricket fixtures!"
 
The Tory spokesperson on Angling

The Tory spokesperson on Angling is Charles Walker. He is standing in Broxbourne and claims to be a Barbel angler fishing on the River Lee. You may like to ask him what he thinks of his senior colleges position on destroying rivers. During the election he can be contacted here
broxbourne@tory.org

I have asked him if the conservatives support dredging as a flood alleviation measure rather than land management, and if he is aware of the harm that dredging does to wildlife in general and fish stocks and recruitment in particular. I await an answer with baited breath.
 
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Now's the time to badger every local candidate and every party spokesperson you can. Keep a copy of whatever they say...all comes in useful if they happen to get in power. If only for reminding them of commitments made that they now have broken!
Most of those in seats they actually think they may win are under strict instructions not to give any commitments on anything and to run anything past their respective parties press office. So expect either bland replies or nothing. Nothing of course is useful in that you can have a go at them for not replying.
They know I am a journalist..its on my e mails and would be wrong to mislead them, but every one here can get onto these people as a potential voter.
Charlie Walker in particular needs to know there are anglers out there, otherwise he will just talk to the same old few from the S&TA and the AT; nothing wrong with that, but individual voices add weight. Elections only come around now and again. They are just about the only time that MP's and potentail MP's are forced to listen to their paymasters, after being elected they can carry on charging for the opportunity.
 
MP John Redwood's words are typical of the old fashioned backward thinking that has led to the destruction of far too many rivers. Were dredging of the level he advocates to ever occur to the Loddon, it would without doubt lead to a massive decline of the fishery and its associated wildlife.

Whatever flood management plans are actually afoot, if the Loddon is a SSSI river, then Natural England will have to consent them. It might be useful here to ask the EA what mitigation plans are in place and what surveys have been undertaken to limit the likely impact on protected species, such as water voles, otters, bullhead, native white-clawed crayfish, etc. Were the fishing clubs proposing to undertake habitat improvements in these areas, the EA would certainly be demanding that the clubs take such actions. It it noticeable, however, that they often do not bother to do these things themselves, though they should.

Living in Norfolk, I'm not sure that I can be of much help in this campaign, however, having spent 30 years battling with the EA on the Wensum, I may be able to offer the odd bit of help here and there. PM me need be.
 
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